168
votes
Accepted
Dissuading my girlfriend from a scam
What's Wrong With Being a Turkey?
One of our dear friends comes to us to seek advice, since we seem to know a thing or two about money. Our friend just so happens to be a turkey - a particularly ...
- 11.6k
140
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
Your father was giving your mother money intended to be spent on your food, clothing, textbooks, and so forth. Your mother no longer has these expenses. The only expense that remains for her is rent (...
- 1,657
136
votes
Should a sibling pay rent to another sibling on a jointly owned house?
A good way to figure out what is fair in such a situation is to mentally separate the various roles, and to explore the rights and obligations of the roles first, and to then aggregate them.
Here we ...
- 859
112
votes
Accepted
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
It's a little unusual, but I don't think the financial terms are completely unreasonable on their face.
What you describe is similar to an interest-only loan, where you make payments that only cover ...
- 6,709
75
votes
Accepted
Considerations when providing money to one child now, and the other later?
Loaning money to close relations tends to end poorly. You are better off not loaning your older child money. This solves all your issues except for one.
You mention that your cash savings are ...
- 75k
74
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
I have no problem with you helping your mother but only under the following circumstances:
You have enough room in your budget to help out. You should not go into debt or sacrifice your necessities ...
- 115k
73
votes
Accepted
Should I pay myself back for paying family's rent out of our pool of money?
David Schwartz's answer is great, I just wanted to add that since you have credit card debt, that $1,500 in rent could cost you a lot more due to interest. Average credit card interest rate is ~16%, ...
- 64.6k
61
votes
Dissuading my girlfriend from a scam
I think it's less about proving that it's a Ponzi scheme and more about thinking which argument will resonate best with her.
Everyone responds to different types of arguments.
For someone who is a ...
- 2,232
57
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
"Mom, that sort of thing is court-ordered."
Tell her that she will need to go back to court to have the divorce settlement modified. You will be happy to comply with any court order, of course.
...
51
votes
Should a sibling pay rent to another sibling on a jointly owned house?
The answer is actually somewhere between "yes" and "no". Think of it this way: if you didn't live in the house, then the house could be rented out, generating some rental income.
...
- 765
48
votes
Should I pay myself back for paying family's rent out of our pool of money?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It's really about how much you are willing to, are expected to, or should help your family. You could certainly gift the $1,500 to your family and ...
- 10.2k
46
votes
Dissuading my girlfriend from a scam
TL;DR
Knowledge is the only way to dissuade a person. If they don't accept knowledge then there is unfortunately very little you can do besides beg them not to do it.
Unless this is money laundering ...
- 6,652
44
votes
Should I charge my children interest when they borrow money?
I think there's value in charging family members/friends interest if it will make them take the loan seriously. The problem is that if you're thinking about charging interest because the person seems ...
- 23.8k
42
votes
Accepted
How to handle a parent going through divorce asking to borrow money
Lending money between relations is typically a bad idea. This can lead to very awkward dinner conversations and has been known to terminate these precious relationships. In these cases the wisdom is ...
- 75k
39
votes
Loan to son - how to get it back
I think you've made a perfectly valid suggestion, and, if your son is struggling somewhat financially now, one that may be very welcome. If you agree to forgive the debt at this time in lieu of a ...
- 441
37
votes
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
"Ripped off" may be too strong as it implies intent - I'm hopeful it's just bad logic or terminology.
I would say better agreements would be:
You own the condo 100% and borrow the remaining 75% ...
- 115k
31
votes
Should I charge my children interest when they borrow money?
Tell them you will not loan them any more money until their existing debts are paid off. This is closer to how the real world works and it won't come across as vengeful or like your changing your ...
- 591
28
votes
Dissuading my girlfriend from a scam
A sign that it is a Ponzi scheme is that the returns are so good that the victim lets it ride. They are encouraged to not pull money from the program. Showing them the cash makes it seem real, but ...
- 118k
27
votes
Considerations when providing money to one child now, and the other later?
I tend to follow the Keep It Simple, Stupid principle.
Next year at the same time when I give my college student daughter some money for a car, I'm going to give her brother an equal amount of money. ...
- 49k
27
votes
Should a sibling pay rent to another sibling on a jointly owned house?
It's tricky when multiple parties own a house, contribute to the upkeep unequally, and enjoy the benefits of owning the house unequally. I agree with both of you to some extent. She should get some ...
- 64.6k
25
votes
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
To expand on what @fishinear and some others are saying:
The only way to look at it is that the parents have invested, because the parents get a % of the property in the end, rather than the ...
- 359
20
votes
What is today's price of €15.000 given 15 years ago?
What you are positioning as a loan was not a loan at all. Your father bought something to be delivered in the future. Your aunt does not want to deliver it, so she should buy it back at whatever the ...
- 32.5k
20
votes
Dissuading my girlfriend from a scam
Have her invest exactly 1 dollar and allow her to only re-invest any money deriven from that very first dollar.
Within 3 years (which equal 36 months), she will either be a millionaire or she will ...
- 331
20
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
First and foremost: this might be a legal issue, not a financial one. In most locales, support payments like this are part of the formal divorce settlement. Someone needs to locate a copy of that ...
- 1,678
20
votes
Should a sibling pay rent to another sibling on a jointly owned house?
It is helpful to imagine that you are two different people, one who is the half-owner of the house and one who is renting the house.
Let's look first at you as the half-owner. You and your sister are ...
- 10.2k
17
votes
Should I charge my children interest when they borrow money?
Parents are eminently capable of gifting to their children. If it's a gift call it a gift.
If it's not a gift, it's either a loan or a landmine for some future interpersonal familial interaction (...
- 8,251
16
votes
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
First, this was never an arrangement for you to build equity, this was an arrangement for them to speculate on another house under the guise of teaching you a life lesson like responsibility or ...
- 20.1k
16
votes
Should I pay myself back for paying family's rent out of our pool of money?
First and foremost, your hesitation is commendable. I think your quality of asking before doing is appreciated. I also think you should approach your siblings the same way.
There are are a few ...
- 269
15
votes
Considerations when providing money to one child now, and the other later?
If you want to be fair then be fair. It sounds like you wish to gift this money so offer it as a gift.
Hi kids, I have an extra £xyz lying around so I would like to give each of you half.
If this ...
- 6,652
14
votes
Do my parents need to pay me minimum wage?
Yes they do.
Here is the main page on minimum wage for the province of British Columbia.
This page lists exemptions from BC minimum wage laws, but there are none for working in a family business, ...
- 30.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible